Just discovered this although it was out several years ago. Rice U in TX used SKYRIM to teach Scandinavian culture in their English class! ENG 312 to be exact....

http://english.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=2147483658

It's amazing what you can still discover with this game in pop culture and real life. Skyrim has truly become iconic.

That Rice U instructor is definitely one hardcoe Skyrim fan

Yep, Skyrim is and has been apart of pop culture. Most everyone knows what Skyrim is, that's why BGS will never abandon the franchise. But on topic I would have loved to have been apart of that class.

I'll bet that guy had 10 times as many students wanting to sign up as he could accommodate with his "limited enrollment"!

I'd probably end up taking it to debate lore with the professor and correct them on things.

I had a sales rep from an energy company stop by to try to get me to change over. I'd been playing and had to pause to answer the door. The music was still playing, and the rep said "Are you playing Skyrim?" I laughed and said yes, then no I wasn't switching. Then we talked about the game for a few minutes. LOL

Skyrim is a gaming icon.

I'm not totally surprised... Skyrim and some of the other games I ( or my husband ) play are one of the few things I have in common with the college kids I work with. I regularly get into debates with a Child development major over the rearing of children... and I wonder that I managed to raise such a well adjusted child ( errr 25 yr's old.. did his 4 in the Army, is in College now)

"She". And hence the "limited enrollment" disclaimer at the bottom of the course description page

Did more googling and found a tribute to it in this 10 things you didn't know about Skyrim. It's #2 at 4:20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-A2zf443j8

That's so incredible stupid....

My brows did knit a bit reading this. Skyrim is thought to be "factual Norse" culture? Really?

Well I know the american education system isn't exactly the best...but I thought private Schools und unis were better.

Did either of you read the link at all? It explicitly says that this is a comparative course about how Scandinavian and Icelandic folk traditions and Sagas have influenced Skyrim specifically and how it plays into Anglo-American fantasy and gamer-culture. In fact, let me quote the whole thing, since it is just a simple summary paragraph:

"Fall 2013

ENGL 312/MDST 312

Scandinavian Fantasy Worlds: Old Norse Sagas and Skyrim

Instructor: Ellard, Donna-Beth

This course has two goals. First, it introduces students to fantasy as both psychological concept and driving force in gamer culture; and second, using these paradigms, it considers how and why medieval Scandinavia serves as a locus of modern Anglo-American fantasy. To these ends, students will read selections from Icelandic sagas and Norse mythology (in translation) as they play different quests within Skyrim. While the course begins by identifying moments of intersection between the worlds of the sagas and of Skyrim (inclement environments, supernatural figures, mythologies), the course is not in any means meant to map the former onto the latter. The purpose of establishing these connections is to then consider how elements of medieval Scandinavian culture have been taken out of historical milieu and literary context, morphed into unfamiliar shape, and appropriated towards other fantastic pursuits. We’ll consider the political saga of Skyrim, with its emphasis on Empire and rebellion, as pursuits made possible by way of Scandinavia in order to think through what Scandinavian fantasy worlds are really about and why they resonate with contemporary Anglo-American culture.

Limited Enrollment! "

It's still a terrible example for comparing them ,there is almost nothing apart from some very basic concepts(Sovngarde /Valhalla) that is actually comparable to real norse culture.Skyrim is more influenced by false myths about Norse culture than Norse culture itself.

And, as I am sure you did not miss, the summarizing paragraph draws attention to this. Quoting again: "The purpose of establishing these connections is to then consider how elements of medieval Scandinavian culture have been taken out of historical milieu and literary context, morphed into unfamiliar shape, and appropriated towards other fantastic pursuits."

Fun fact, dresses in Skyrim are more realistic than the ones in the Vikings tv series, always annoys me http://towr.net16.net/images/vikingdame.jpg

Housing is nice, however far more advanced, think viking culture lasted up to 16-1700.

Armor is the big letdown, chain mail round shield and metal helmets without horn

But overall as well as an general movie or tv series.

Sorry, Tdroid. I did not read the link. My apologies for my "ass-u-me-ption"

This class is actually very interesting. It serves not only as an examination of cultural inspiration on contemporary media, but also as an anolysis of modern-day folklore itself.


I've always found it interesting how modern people come up with the lore they put in media. Take barrows in Skyrim, for instance. Google a real-life image of a barrow and you'll it's much smaller – a mound with stones really. But Skryim amplifies it into something epic.


I feel this class would be a good follow-up to an anolysis of Tolkien.